Great Towns in Scotland

Looking at spending about 10 days or so in Scotland in May. Will be with my wife and she doesn’t golf. We will be in Edinburgh for a few days than want to unwind in a smaller town and take in some sites and local culture. We have spent time in Edinburgh prior that also included a day trip to St. Andrews (with no golf other than walking about 6 holes on TOC). This time I will try to play 2-3 times. Looking for some recommendations...

Would love St. Andrews from a golf standpoint and we really enjoyed the town. Not completely opposed to returning, but thinking about seeing something new. Troon? Ayr? North Berwick? Maybe we should split it up and do 3 days and a couple different towns? Not necessarily looking at playing the big name rota courses, although that would certainly work. Really just want a cool town(s) to enjoy and play some fun Scottish golf.

North Berwick is a great little seaside town and one of the most interesting golf courses you will ever play. Also lots of other golf in that East Lothian area.

Sterling is a good place for a stop. Golf course is nice (funny fact : par5 #18 is longer from women tee - 504y - than male regular tees - 497y). Beautiful castle, a few other old buildings and Wallace Monument in the neighborhood, worth a check imo

North Berwick is close by and plenty of places to play in the immediate area and inland to the south that aren't "name" courses, and several that are. Really can't go wrong there. Troon is farther away, but the same can be said for that area as well. You really can't go wrong either way (or at least I hope not, lol, we are spending a week in Troon followed by a week in North Berwick this summer). Sounds like a great idea.

Don't forget about Glasgow, Scotland's biggest city (which is very accessible for high quality museums, art galleries, shopping etc. on foot; the west end is particularly nice, where Glasgow University is) - you can easily pop down to Troon on the train from there for golf, and there are a few nice parkland courses to play in the city itself (e.g. Pollok, an Alister MacKenzie design).

Dunkeld in Perthshire for a day or day/night? There's Dunkeld Cathedral, and there's a golf course nearby with some interesting holes. Can't remember the name of it, but there's one where you're hitting down off the edge of a small cliff. Stunning views.

In Scotland https://www.visitscotland.com/info/towns-villages/boat-of-garten-p236911

Just across the border is Berwick-Upon-Tweed https://www.visitnorthumberland.com/coast

I really like Berwick, it's got all the neat touristy bits, while being big enough to be able to mix up the dining options for a multi-night stay and one of the better pubs for a proper pint on my last trip over. Goswick is a superb links course, with a couple more modest ones nearby too and lots of non-golf stuff to do as well, gorgeous coastline with some really impressive castles right along the beach, with small villages clustered around them if you'd want to stay in a village as opposed to a town.

Edit: Cliche I know, but it's hard to pick a bad spot, once you get away from the central belt.

If you like the outdoors and amazingly scenic drives consider driving out to Campbeltown. It has everything. Golf for you if you want that's amazing and so many outdoor things to do. Amazing beaches, great hiking, amazing seafood (if you go eat at Food For Thought) it's about 3.5-4h drive from Edinburgh but it's one of the world's most scenic drives you go through the Loch Lomond /Trossachs National Park and then drive along lochs and the ocean all the way until you get there. If you do decide to go send me a PM and I'll clue you in on some other great things to do w a non golfing spouse.

My wife's parents used to own a small hotel in Lochcarron until only a few weeks ago. It's a bit of a long way from Edinburgh but the scenery in the Highlands is well worth the trip. Travel via Inverness and you could play Castle Stuart.

> @duffer987 said:

> In Scotland https://www.visitscotland.com/info/towns-villages/boat-of-garten-p236911

> Just across the border is Berwick-Upon-Tweed https://www.visitnorthumberland.com/coast

>

> I really like Berwick, it's got all the neat touristy bits, while being big enough to be able to mix up the dining options for a multi-night stay and one of the better pubs for a proper pint on my last trip over. Goswick is a superb links course, with a couple more modest ones nearby too and lots of non-golf stuff to do as well, gorgeous coastline with some really impressive castles right along the beach, with small villages clustered around them if you'd want to stay in a village as opposed to a town.

>

> Edit: Cliche I know, but it's hard to pick a bad spot, once you get away from the central belt.

A large group of us were in Berwick for a week last May, all enjoyed the town and golf (as I’ve written elsewhere here). The best town in Scotland is indeed in England.

St. Andrews

Inverness

Dornoch

Pitlochry/Blairgowrie/Dunkeld

Campbeltown

Berwick-upon-Tweed

Gullane / North Berwick

> @fredstar said:

> North Berwick is a great little seaside town and one of the most interesting golf courses you will ever play. Also lots of other golf in that East Lothian area.

Second this, North Berwick is a fab town, hopefully you will get to see the town pipe band marching down the street on a glorious summers evening like we did this past summer. The perfect way to cap off a magnificent of golf.

Thanks for all of the great comments. Look like our trip might be delayed until late summer or earl fall. Looking hard at Campeltown and North Berwick. Possibly even a couple nights at Gleneagles just to pamper ourselves a little bit.

Has anyone ever stayed at the Duck’s inn?

Has any one ever stayed at the Duck’s Inn?

Not sure how continually posting helps, but maybe you could change the title of the thread you started to include the names of the two you are interested in, then it may be more obvious (and hopefully someone has and will answer).

> @Hawkeye77 said:

> Not sure how continually posting helps, but maybe you could change the title of the thread you started to include the names of the two you are interested in, then it may be more obvious (and hopefully someone has and will answer).

Edit: lol, or just start another thread so now you have two on the same thing. Oops, I quoted instead of edited.

> @Hawkeye77 said:

> Not sure how continually posting helps, but maybe you could change the title of the thread you started to include the names of the two you are interested in, then it may be more obvious (and hopefully someone has and will answer).

If nothing else, he's persistent! LOL

Dornoch should be high on your list. You have the wonderful RD itself plus Brora, Golspie and Tain nearby, all of which are lovely little towns with excellent golf courses.

Is there no love for Elie? With all of Fife easily reachable in about 30 minutes tops and the fabulous GHC Elie on your doorstep it's hard to beat.

+4 on North Berwick.

Ciao

> @milesgiles said:

> > @duffer987 said:

> > In Scotland https://www.visitscotland.com/info/towns-villages/boat-of-garten-p236911

> > Just across the border is Berwick-Upon-Tweed https://www.visitnorthumberland.com/coast

> >

> > I really like Berwick, it's got all the neat touristy bits, while being big enough to be able to mix up the dining options for a multi-night stay and one of the better pubs for a proper pint on my last trip over. Goswick is a superb links course, with a couple more modest ones nearby too and lots of non-golf stuff to do as well, gorgeous coastline with some really impressive castles right along the beach, with small villages clustered around them if you'd want to stay in a village as opposed to a town.

> >

> > Edit: Cliche I know, but it's hard to pick a bad spot, once you get away from the central belt.

>

> A large group of us were in Berwick for a week last May, all enjoyed the town and golf (as I’ve written elsewhere here). The best town in Scotland is indeed in England.

>

>

Best pubs are The Barrels and The Curfew, both on Bridge Street and both serving great real ales.

Goswick is a great links course.

^And that would be the one of the better pubs :-)

And 'The Curfew' needs to be taken literally, I didn't get to it due to it's closing time.